The subject matter herein relates generally to an electrical connector and a system having pairs of signal pathways for transmitting differential signals.
Systems, such as those used in networking and telecommunication, use electrical connectors to interconnect components of the systems. The interconnected components may be, for example, a motherboard and a daughter card. However, as speed and performance demands increase, conventional electrical connectors are proving to be insufficient. For example, signal loss and/or signal degradation is a problem in some systems. There is also a desire to increase the density of signal pathways to increase throughput of the systems, without an appreciable increase in size of the electrical connectors. Increasing the density of signal pathways, however, can reduce the performance of the electrical connectors or cause other problems.
In addition to increasing the density of signal pathways, manufacturers have been more willing to adopt different electrical characteristics of the devices. In the past, the industry standard for impedance in certain electrical devices was 100 ohm. The electrical connectors that engaged these devices were configured to match the impedance of the devices (e.g., 100 ohm). More recently, however, manufacturers have adopted device designs having different impedances (e.g., 85 ohms). In many cases, changing the impedance of an electrical device necessitates a structural change in the electrical connector(s) that engage the electrical device. Design changes such as these may be costly. In additions, new tools may be required to manufacture the newly designed connectors.
Accordingly, a need exists for an electrical connector that can be manufactured to have a first impedance (e.g., 85 ohm) or manufactured to have a second impedance (e.g., 100 ohm) without changing the structure of the electrical connector.